Miss Effie's Scrapbook

Friday, April 27, 2012

OK ... Ground Rules!!!!

It is cold, cloudy and windy out. I need to be planting but I think I will hold off for a moment.

So -- today was chick day!!

I had ordered 5 each of Easter eggers, Welsummers, Cuckoo Marans and Speckled Sussex pullets. Then I had decided that I wanted some Silkies.

Josephine, Napoleon and Cruella DeVille

We had lost Napoleon and Cruella DeVille in the past to predators. But poor Josephine wanted babies. And like all good Silkies .... she went broody. Over and Over again.

Now a broody mama would have loved to have some new chicks.... so I was patiently waiting until my ordered Silkies arrived to give Josephine the babies she always wanted.

Last week, when locking up the girls at night ..... we didn't realize that Josephine was sitting on a nest she had created in the run. It was not the night to be out. Come morning .... all that was left of Josephine, was a little pile of feathers.

So today .... the chicks arrived. Twenty full sized pullets and .............................. one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine ............. Silkies. Wait. There is suppose to be 15. Oh ... two deceased. But we were still missing the 5 buff Silkies.

I got every one settled in the brooder..... plug in the light! And poof! The heat bulb was out! So on to the farm store for another bulb!

They are now warm .... sweetly peeping in the brooder. So far ... so good. They are such tiny things.

In other news .... WOW!!!!! It is going to be a busy year on the farm!!! My email and Facebook pages have been filled with booking events! I love that!!!!

Please call and talk to me before booking your event on the farm. We have weddings, showers, parties booked already. Unfortunately ... this is a one woman show and the farm takes a lot of time. This is also my home and laundry, baking, housekeeping is also on the schedule. So I can only book so many events in one week. Normally ... I don't want more than two in the same week.

We do charge for large groups coming to the farm ..... so please look at the Field Trip tab for further details.

I have just started planting.... so I am totally unsure about flower availability at this time. I don't know what to think!!! The purple bouquet dianthus has started to bloom ... the lilies look like they should in June and the peonies have huge buds.

But the annuals are just starting to go in ..... and try as I might ..... they do not grow over night!!!

My best guess at the moment ... we will see snapdragons, larkspur and dianthus approximately June 1st.

Just curious if you got your chicks from Murray McMurray. Another friend did this spring and they screwed up her order, too -- and being difficult about making it right. She said she will never order from them again. I am fortunate to have a local hatchery (http://farwesthatchery.intuitwebsites.com/About-Us.html); they have been fantastic to deal with.

Michelle ... I ordered from Cackle. I have used Cackle and McMurray in the past with no trouble.

I talked to them and they said there has been quite the demand for silkies. The delivery time was 2 days and it really got cold last night.

The nice thing about Cackle is you can do a smaller order of chickens after April 1... 15 chickens and 15 bantams. Which would have worked great ... if it hadn't gotten so cold. They are refunding my costs for the buff silkies and the 2 that I have lost.